


Dawnfire

by sinestrated



Series: Skyward [3]
Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dragons, Animal Transformation, Eggpreg, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-26
Updated: 2013-06-26
Packaged: 2017-12-16 05:03:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,808
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/858100
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sinestrated/pseuds/sinestrated
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>[Posted to LiveJournal 1/2013; uploaded to AO3 6/2013]</p><p>AU. After weeks of waiting, the eggs finally hatch.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dawnfire

Jensen jolted awake to what felt like a kick straight to the gut.

“Oof!” he cried, and reached instinctively for the large, bulky object that had hit him. “Jared, stop—” Another impact of his mate’s massive head to his chest plastered him back against the damp cave wall. “ _Ow!_ Jay, what—”

_Get up!_ His mate’s voice exploded frantic inside his head. _Jensen, get up!_

Instinct snapped into place at the panic in Jared’s voice, and Jensen immediately flipped to a kneeling position. A quick breath sent his aura sweeping out over the cave and into the forest beyond, searching for threats. Had someone come? If anyone so much as _dared_ threaten his family—

_Jensen!_ A whoosh of air, and he barely ducked quickly enough to avoid the sweep of Jared’s wing, his mate scrambling within the limited space of the cave to turn around. _They’re_ hatching!

A brief, disorienting flash of confusion—they were being attacked by infants?—before the rest of Jensen’s brain finally turned on. Quickly he reached out to wrap an arm around the base of Jared’s neck, pleased when his mate’s panicked flailing calmed almost immediately. Then he gave Jared a gentle nudge. “Shift,” he said. “In a little bit, there won’t be room enough for all of us.”

The immediacy with which Jared obliged conveyed the extent of his alarm. With a rush of cold air, more space opened up in the cave, and Jensen slowly approached their nest.

At first, he could see no change: the two eggs lay as they always did, nestled in their bed of mud and grass. But then, all of a sudden, as if realizing it had an audience, one of them gave a twitch, a little sideways half-roll, and Jensen felt his heart leap up to take residence somewhere in the back of his throat.

There, traced in the milky-white shell like a blood vein, was a crack. It was tiny, a bare shadow, yet still Jensen stared at it like the most beautiful of sunrises. Next to him, Jared made a worried noise, aborted a movement toward the nest, and turned to Jensen instead.

“What do we do now?” he asked, voice almost youngling-tiny.

Jensen smiled, reminded himself his mate was still young, and reached out to take Jared’s hand, intertwining their fingers in warm reassurance.

“Now,” he answered, “we wait.”

The anticipation was maddening. Jensen felt his heart skip a beat each time a new crack appeared in the leathery shells, and he could only imagine how agonizing it must be for Jared, sitting beside him and squeezing his hand hard enough to hurt.

When the first weak little chirp came, they both startled. Sudden warmth infused Jensen’s heart until he thought he might burst into flame right there in the cave. His children— _their_ children—were here at last.

Another chirp as something tiny began pushing weakly at a section of the shell. Next to him, Jared whimpered and started forward—Jensen stopped him with a hand on his arm.

“No,” he whispered, and barely recognized the voice as his own, breathless with anticipation and excitement. “We must let them do it on their own.”

Jared’s eyes shone with worry. “But what if they can’t?”

“They can,” Jensen said. “We dragons enter the world through our own strength. That is why we hold dominion over all other creatures on this earth.”

Jared swallowed; Jensen could almost see him fighting the battle within himself, the nurturing instinct of a new parent warring with the desire to foster their children’s independence. Finally, he nodded and sat back on his haunches. Together, they turned back to the nest.

Another tiny cry, another push, and the chunk of eggshell finally gave way, falling with a soft _put_ into the mud. Jensen felt Jared take a long, shaky breath beside him, but he hardly noticed it, too busy staring at the tiny head that now poked out from the egg, regarding them with wet, blinking eyes.

Jensen had witnessed the birth of many younglings in his long lifetime, yet _beautiful_ could not begin to describe the baby dragon that now peered out at them from the confines of the egg. A bony gray head tapered into a long snout, Silverstreak through and through, but there was also no mistaking the neat rise of spines along the top of the skull, or the fact that the baby was fully two or three times the size of a normal youngling. Jensen stared at the narrowness of the nose, the taper of the delicate neck, and felt a shiver of warm pride down his spine.

“It’s a girl,” he whispered, and heard Jared make a noise beside him, half-gasp, half-happy sniffle. “Jay. We have two baby girls.”

Their daughter turned toward his voice, big slitted eyes blinking in curiosity. Then she seemed to take a breath, and with another little chirp the remainder of the egg cracked and fell apart, forced out by the unfolding of two tiny wings. She shook herself like a wet dog and then took a first, stumbling step forward.

Jensen swallowed, staring at their daughter as she tested the texture of the nest for the first time with her claws, bending down to sniff curiously at the grass. Next to him, Jared made a torn noise and finally scrambled forward, scooping her up into his arms. She squawked, wings flapping as she tried to find a balance, and Jared cradled her to his chest, bending down to kiss the top of her head.

“Gods,” he whispered, looking up at Jensen. His eyes were wet. “Jensen. She’s _gorgeous_.”

Jensen didn’t respond, his attention elsewhere. Cracks were now forming in the second egg, the leathery capsule trembling and rolling about in the nest. Then, with a burst of bravado not shown by her sister, their second child forced the egg apart, bits of shell falling everywhere as she tumbled into the nest, squealing.

All the breath left Jensen’s lungs as he stared at the familiar mottled green, the slitted golden eyes that were an exact copy of his own. As their younger daughter’s legs kicked in the air from where she’d fallen on her back, she twisted her neck around to chirp indignantly at him as if to say, _Well? Are you just going to leave me like this?_

Next to him, Jared laughed, breathless. Jensen reached forward and took the trembling youngling in his arms. She weighed nothing, a bare feather on his skin, yet he felt the substance of her life-force like a physical thing, warm and vibrant with life, and he didn’t even notice until both Jared and their older daughter gave identical little sighs that he’d instinctively extended his aura to wrap around them all, enclosing each member of his newfound family in a cocoon of warmth and protection.

Tucked against his chest, the baby dragon curled her wings down over her body and gave a yawn full of tiny, needle-like teeth. Jensen chuckled, running a gentle finger over his daughter’s scaly chest, feeling the fast-paced flutter of the little heart underneath. “It’s okay,” he whispered, as she chirped and nipped at his thumb. “You’ve done a lot today. You can sleep if you want.”

He lifted his head and met Jared’s eyes, wide and shining with wonder and love. Jared smiled, cradling their older daughter. “Jensen,” he whispered. “We did it.”

Jensen could only nod. They had. He and Jared had come together despite all the odds—despite the prejudice from the other dragons, the difference in their races, the guilt that Jensen still carried with him like a block of cement—and they’d done it, they’d brought their children into this world. He looked down at his daughter, her head already beginning to bow with exhaustion from the ordeal of her hatching. They would only grow stronger from here on. Half-Silverstreak, half-Colossus, he already knew their girls would both grow up to rule the skies.

Swallowing, he looked back up at Jared and could barely get the words out around the lump in his throat. “What will we call them?”

Jared hummed, looking down at the youngling in his arms. She met his gaze bravely and chirped, butting at his chin with her snout and making him snort. “Feisty already, huh?” he said, and smiled. “Athura,” he whispered after a moment, the name falling tender and sacred from his lips. “My mother’s name.”

Jensen nodded but said nothing. After another moment, Jared looked up at him. “And you?”

Athura pushed at Jared’s hand, purring as he stroked down her spine. Jensen smiled, gently scratching their other daughter at the base of her wing. In all his life, he had christened many younglings, their parents thinking it the highest honor for a Colossus to grant their children names. But in all those years, he’d always held on to one last name, the one he found most beautiful, the one he knew could only go to a child of his own.

After thousands of years of hopeless isolation, of guilt and anger and the belief he would never have a family, he could finally let go of the name. His daughter lifted her head to look up at him, eyes expectant, almost as if she knew exactly what he was thinking, and Jensen smiled, kissing the tip of her snout.

“Anyss,” he said. “We will call you Anyss.”

Anyss stared up at him for a moment longer, contemplating. Then she yawned again and settled against his chest as if to say, _I guess that’ll do._

With a breathless laugh—because of course one of their daughters would be born sarcastic—Jensen clutched her close and stood, walking over to join Jared against the far wall of the cave. As soon as he was settled Jared reached out, gently scratching her beneath the chin and smiling when she gave a pleased purr.

“Hello, Anyss,” he said. “It’s nice to meet you.”

Athura squeaked and butted her snout against his hand, demanding attention for herself, and they both laughed. Jensen extended a finger for Athura to nibble on, her tiny teeth scraping like sandpaper over his skin.

“We should go out for food,” Jared whispered, even as he scooted closer to rest his head against Jensen’s shoulder.

“Yes,” Jensen agreed, “we should.”

They didn’t move. A cool breeze blew through the cave, and both younglings shivered, snuggling closer for warmth. Jensen smiled, cradling Anyss to him and settling a hand over her trembling heart. Next to him, Athura’s eyes fluttered closed and she curled up in Jared’s arms for a nap. Jensen’s mate hummed, one hand holding their daughter up, the other finding Jensen’s and wrapping firm and sure around his fingers.

Well, Jensen thought as he settled with his new family, food could always wait.

**Author's Note:**

>  **Regarding translations:** All my works, including this one, can be translated without first asking my express permission. I ask only that you credit me as the original author and provide a link back to the original work. For anything other than translations, please ask first. Thanks.


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